Copyright © 2000 Panafrican News Agency
December 18, 2000
By Mildred Mulenga

Lack of rural electrification and the quest for unregulated domestic energy requirement by women is threatening the survival of Zambian forests.

Zambia is a major producer of electricity and exports a lot of it, yet only seven percent of Zambian homes are electrified.

This means women spend a lot of time looking for fuelwood by extensively cutting trees to use as energy for domestic use, resulting in systematic deforestation.

Green Living Movement (GLM), an indigenous environmental pressure group, has called on the government to modernise its forestry policy to include women groups, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders to bring the policy closer to the people if the present waste of forest resources is to be minimised.

GLM Information and Publicity Co-ordinator Singy Hanyona says Zambia's Forestry Policy enacted in 1949 and amended in 1965 is outdated and has failed to reflect the concerns of today's situation in the forestry sector.

"The Forestry Policy does not permit other groups like Non-governmental Organisations and women opportunity to participate in forest management or utilisation. It is merely relics of statements made under colonial rule.

"We want Zambia's forestry policy to operate under a policy goal of active participation of all stakeholders in forest management," Hanyona said Monday in Lusaka.

Hanyona pointed out that in Zambia the structural linkages between gender roles and environment are not fully appreciated, thus leaving women out of the decision-making in the sector.

"Women's contribution to managing natural resources and safeguarding the environment is not recognised and supported by government polices and programmes.

"They are erroneously blamed for environmental degradation, yet they are supposed to play a significant role in natural resource and environmental management," Hanyona stated.

Jennifer Zulu, a consultant in Lusaka, says the dichotomy between domestic and industrial energy requirements has left issues of domestic energy requirements in the hands of women.

"Little effort has been made to develop more energy requirements in the hands of women. The energy policy on rural electrification should be spread throughout the country as soon as possible. Electricity is cheaper, safer and protects women and lightens the burden on the part of women," she observed.

Zambia's old Forestry policy gave the state monopoly control of forest resources in the country. Error: Unable to read footer file.